In an undefeated intramural Co-Rec basketball showdown Monday night at the Field House, Chino Stoppaz edged Defenstrators, 38-37.

Both teams entered the contest with 3-0 records, and prime defense by the two squads led to a back-and-forth battle.

“What hurt us is that we took good shots, but they just weren’t falling,” said senior Crystal Moody of Defenstrators.

Each team managed to match the other’s shots throughout the game. During the first half, the advantage swayed nearly every 20 seconds.

A 3-pointer by Chino Stoppaz senior Kendall Gifford left her squad with a two-point lead. But her teammates found nothing positive in their first-half performance.

“I think we are shooting about 12 percent,” senior Tyler Johnston said at half. “We are definitely a second-half team.”

The Chino Stoppaz certainly exploded offensively early in the second half. But following a run, Defenstrators senior Nick Riesleman made two free throws to cut the Chino Stoppaz’s led to one at 19-18.

With eight minutes left, Defenstrators senior John Muesch netted a big 3-pointer to tied the game, 23-23. But a subsequent Johnston 3-pointer kept the Chino Stoppaz ahead.

Fouling became a quick problem for Chino Stoppaz. A shooting foul allowed Defenstrators to take a one-point lead with five minutes left, and in the ensuing minutes, the squad shut down the Chino Stoppaz’s attack from behind the arc.

With the minutes fading, the hustle increased, but the game remained even until the 2:00 mark when junior Caitlin Josten of Chino Stoppaz sunk an open lay-up for a 34-32 lead.

Immediately after, senior Kyle Swanson of Chino Stoppaz swished a jumper with 1:52 left in the game to put his team ahead by four. Defenstrators then called a time-out.

But despite desperation foul attempts and an in-and-out last-second jumper by Moody that would have won the game, Defenstrators picked up its first loss of the season.

Following the game, Defenstrators senior Lindsey Knake said her team’s shooting was off, but if she had to have a loss, she was glad it came in the regular season. She and her teammates are ready for tournament play, where they can redeem themselves, she said.

The members of Chino Stoppaz said they were happy with the victory but not with their performance.

“It’s hard to say if we were actually an even matchup with them because neither team shot well,”Swanson said, “but it was a good game, and we are glad we came out on top.”